We have identified a new organelle, the receptosome, that carries ligands from the clathrin coated pits on the surface of fibroblasts to the Golgi apparatus. Ligands carried by this pathway include Alpha2-macroglobulin, epidermal growth factor, insulin, low density lipoprotein, Beta-galactosidase and some viruses. Ligands that eventually end up in lysosomes first traverse the reticular portion of the Golgi and are concentrated in coated pits of the Golgi before they enter lysosomes. We believe that receptosomes form directly from the coated pits of the cell surface and not by uncoating of coated vesicles.